About 13,000 of the affected bikes have been supplied in Australia since 2003, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission who put out the warning on Tuesday.

ACCC deputy chair Delia Rickard said the importation or use of asbestos has been prohibited in Australia since 2004, “but it is believed Polaris only recently became aware of the presence of asbestos in some of its quad bike range”.

“Fortunately, the advice we have currently received indicates the presence of asbestos in the quad bike parts is unlikely to present a safety risk while riding the quad bike,” Ms Rickard said.

“Nonetheless we are treating this issue extremely seriously and working closely with Polaris to gather all relevant information that enables a fast, efficient remediation of any bikes that contain these parts.”